In collaboration with United’s medical team, as well as strength and conditioning coaches, Van de Beek made clear he wanted improve his physique ahead of his second season in English football. He returned to his home village in Nijkerkerveen, a 45-minute drive from Amsterdam, and developed a plan to gain lean muscle.
The Athletic has been told Van de Beek enlisted the help of FysioConcept, an elite specialised training centre in Amsterdam, where he followed a personalised nutrition plan and weight-based training sessions. FysioConcept is popular among Dutch footballers and players such as Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong, as well as Dutch icons Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart, have previously enrolled. Van de Beek himself previously recuperated at the centre in 2019. You do not need to be a fitness expert to see that Van de Beek has amassed a larger frame. After his first pre-season appearance against Brentford this week, in which he wore the captain’s armband, his team-mate Harry Maguire teased Van de Beek by writing on Instagram, “Don’t stretch that armband”, which appeared to be a reference to the Dutchman’s visible muscle gain.
